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Greg Norman sees long road ahead for Tiger Woods once he returns

Greg Norman anticipates a long journey back to the top for Tiger Woods, the only player to hold the No. 1 spot in the world rankings longer than The Shark.

Norman, 56, expects Woods, 35, to win again, but would be shocked if he dominates like he once did as the injuries mount and his intimidation factor vanishes.

“I’d like to see him get back out there with the flair and confidence American golf needs, golf in general needs,” Norman said. “But it’s not going to be an easy road for him, the older he gets.”

Norman – who was No. 1 for 331 weeks, 292 fewer than Woods – said the end of the Tiger Era may have arrived April 10 at the Masters, where his Sunday charge fizzled after he shot 31 on the front nine.

“When Tiger hit the lead with nine holes to go, in the past everybody would just freak and let him do what he wanted to do,” Norman said. “The younger players didn’t get intimidated and blew right by him. And by them blowing by him, Tiger’s game freezed up a little bit.

“He wasn’t making the putts on the back nine. As well as he played the front nine, you’d figured the worst he’d shoot was 33, 3-under. But he kind of stood still.”

Woods closed with an even-par 36 on the back nine to tie for fourth.

Since the Masters, he’s played nine holes due to injuries to his left knee and Achilles tendon he suffered in the third round hitting a shot out of the pinestraw at Augusta National.

Woods, a 14-time major winner, withdrew midway through the first round of The Players Championship and sat out the U.S. Open and British Open.

He has until Aug. 5 to enter the PGA Championship.

Norman knows the toll injuries can take on a player. He is recovering from February surgery to his left shoulder – his fourth medical procedure linked to golf, and his second to the same shoulder, since 1998.

Norman did contend at the 1999 Masters at age 44 and incredibly at the 2008 British Open at age 53.

Woods is much younger than Norman was both times, but it’s still a lot to expect Woods to bounce back as the player to beat each time he tees it up.

“I just know every surgery you have and every injury you have it’s compounded somewhere else,” Norman said. “Your anatomy makes these minor adjustments. With as many golf balls as we hit, those weak links in your body get somehow affected down the line.”